POLICE PATROL MOVING TO A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Although a yearlong community policing effort is over for two southwest neighborhoods, it is just beginning for another.

Come October, residents of Riverside Park and Sailboat Bend will not see the 10 police officers they have become accustomed to seeing.

The officers were part of a yearlong experiment in which they patrolled neighborhoods on foot, bikes and cars seven days a week.

The police unit will move north to South Middle River, a neighborhood bound by the South Fork of the Middle River on the north, Northeast Fourth Avenue on the east, Sunrise Boulevard on the south and Northwest Ninth Avenue on the west.

"People were upset when they knew we were leaving," said Sgt. Rich Herbert, who supervises the program. "But in fairness we had to move into other neighborhoods. It's just not fair to super-police a small area for an inordinate amount of time."

The idea is to have police officers get to know the neighborhoods and the people who live there. The officers order abandoned cars to be towed, keep trash heaps from forming outside apartment buildings, keep vagrants out of the neighborhood, try to prevent crime and attend neighborhood association meetings, Herbert said.

"Our primary intent was to make an impact on crime," Herbert said. "One way we try to do that is to improve the physical quality of the neighborhood. It has been determined that a neighborhood that looks uncared for frequently becomes a target for crime."

The two southwest neighborhoods were chosen as a testing ground for the community police program because they have high crime rates, strong support from civic associations, and are an area where police felt they could make a significant impact, Herbert said.

"It had an unacceptably high crime rate," Herbert said. "But it was an area we thought we could control because the problems were not overwhelming."

The success rate has been good, he said.

There has been a 30 percent reduction in burglaries, a 22 percent reduction in robberies and purse snatchings. Herbert said that community police made about 150 felony arrests and about 700 misdemeanor arrests.

South Middle River was chosen out of four neighborhoods for the program because it has the most immediate need and because it has a strong neighborhood association, Maj. Wayne Bolden said.

The plan is to keep the community police in the South Middle River for four to six months. The unit will then move to Lauderdale Manors, an adjacent neighborhood.

Southwest-area residents say they will miss having the community police.

"We think they've done a great job," said Bob Walsh of Sailboat Bend. "If they have to be pulled out to go to other neighborhoods -- well, we think that's only fair. However, we would want to see at least one officer remain here to maintain what has already been done."

Assistant City Manager Pete Witschen said a full-time code enforcement officer will be assigned to the southwest neigborhoods as part of the community police team.

"It is an experiment to see how we can bridge from having full-time police officers to maintaining the intent of the program in a way that is affordable," Witschen said. "I don't think we have another alternative. We have a number of neighborhoods that need the special attention and unfortunately we just can't offer it exclusively to Sailboat Bend and Riverside."

Residents of the southwest area were not happy when told they would lose the community police.

"I think disappointment is the best way to describe it at this point," said Jeff Cole, a Riverside resident. "We hate to lose the increased police presence in the neighborhood, but we understand that there are budget constraints."

Witschen said the code enforcement officer will do double duty.

"The person will be used for code enforcement," Witschen said, "and to keep a pulse on the neighborhood. Hopefully, this is a program that will work."

The program is not only popular with neighborhood associations, but also with the police.

"I love this job," Herbert said. "People are really happy to see us. We are welcomed with open arms, unlike some of the lesser known units in the department. I think we have a broad base of support because people feel they have direct contact with police officers."